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My NASA Concept underwent an Unscheduled Disassembly. Here is what I learned.
I recently submitted a concept for a NASA Freelance Design Challenge with a $20,000 prize. The goal was to develop a solution for mapping a permanently shadowed lunar crater, a place hundreds of degrees below freezing and deeper than the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, my concept didn’t succeed.
Failure doesn’t feel great, especially when your day job involves designing solutions people want. Looking back, I see where I went wrong: I didn’t explore unmet needs or get feedback on early sketches from potential stakeholders. That’s on me. But failure is a learning opportunity, and I’m using it to build a stronger path forward.
What’s Next?
I’m applying for two more NASA challenges! One focuses on recycling materials on the moon — NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge — while the other ($400,000 prize) will support research into how people can accelerate the research process ($100,000). To avoid repeating my mistakes, I’m using Generative AI to simulate themes of user needs at scale. Why? Because the ultimate goal isn’t just solving lunar problems; it’s building tools the whole world can benefit from.
